Orange Gets $75,000 To Help Poor With Aids

Orange County, which ranks fourth in Florida in AIDS cases, has received a $75,000 state grant to create a network of medical and social services for indigent patients infected with the virus.

The money, which is being distributed this month, is part of a $4.9 million appropriation shared by six counties that have had the most reported cases of acquired immune deficiency syndrome.

Dade County, which has had 46 percent of Florida's 1,684 adult cases, received $4.2 million to set up a web of services ''from diagnosis to death,'' said Joyner Sims, head of the state health department. Broward County received $275,000, Palm Beach County got $200,000 and Monroe, Orange and Hillsborough counties got $75,000 each.

Orange County ranked fifth when the Legislature appropriated the money last spring, but inched to fourth place last week with its 58th diagnosed case. Since Jan. 1, Orange County has reported 43 cases to the federal Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta.

Nationwide, 26,000 cases of AIDS have been diagnosed since 1982, and more than half the patients have died.

The counties are ranked similarly in the number of people who have tested positive for the HIV antibody. The antibody indicates the presence of the virus, which is transmitted through bodily fluids such as semen or blood. Although not all these people will get AIDS, a deteriorating immune system cannot fight disease.

In Orange County, 30 to 50 people fall into that category, said Dr. Jerry Brand, chief of epidemiology and community health at the Orange County Health Department.

To qualify for treatment in Orange County, patients must show symptoms of AIDS-related diseases, Brand said. Those who test positive for the antibody but feel well are not eligible. Fees are set based on the patient's ability to pay.

''Basically, we're going to be caring and treating infections as they arise, doing proper evaluations of the patient to see what medical services they need,'' said Dr. William Robbins, an infectious-disease specialist who will work with Brand.

With the grant, the health department can treat indigent patients for AIDS-related infections, such as pneumocystis pneumonia, and provide education and counseling. Previously, doctors working through the Orange County Medical Clinic had supplied medical care without support services.

The health department will coordinate psychological and drug counseling, education about safe sex practices and home patient care to help contain the disease. The intent is to reach more high-risk people, including intravenous drug users and promiscuous homosexuals and bisexuals, and to reduce risk through education, Brand said.

There is no cure for AIDS, but in clinical trials, one drug, called AZT, has shown promise in treating the AIDS virus. AZT is being made available to doctors treating AIDS patients who meet a list of qualifying criteria.

Care for AIDS patients varies in Central Florida, with most counties offering counseling to AIDS patients and treatment by private physicians. Volusia and Orange health departments can treat AIDS patients.

Three counties have organized support groups for patients, their friends and families -- Centaur in Orange, Aegis in Brevard, and DARE, or Daytona AIDS Resources and Education, in Volusia.

Testing for the antibody is available for $20 in Orange and Brevard counties and for $3 in Volusia.

Seminole County refers people to Orange for testing and medical care. Lake County screens maternity patients to see if they are at risk of getting the disease and sends them to Alachua or Orange counties for testing. Osceola offers no public treatment.